Literary Development of Virtual Worlds

Course Description: This course will provide an introduction to the development of virtual worlds for literary study. Participants will explore the technological and pedagogical aspects of virtual world design, as well as examine the experience of high school and college literature teachers involved in pioneering projects. They will also learn about the origins of virtual worlds, their impact on digital literacies, and how to engage and motivate primary school children in immersive 3D environments. Learning Objectives:

• Understand the history and development of virtual worlds from online text adventure games to graphics-based platforms
• Analyze how virtual worlds can facilitate constructivist learning in diverse ways
• Describe the technological and pedagogical aspects of virtual world design
• Examine the experience of high school and college literature teachers involved in pioneering projects with virtual worlds for literary study
• Evaluate how introducing new digital literacies into classroom settings is encouraged by policy-makers and educators alike
• Investigate how out-of-school use of virtual worlds can promote literacy practices among young children ages 5-11
• Assess how a 3D virtual world can engage and motivate primary school children in an immersive environment for learning literature skills
• Explore how gaming industry advances have driven the development of these virtual worlds over time
• Develop a definition for what constitutes a “virtual world” based on key characteristics identified through review and analysis of educational literature source
• Summarize findings from a meta-analytic review of scientific literature related to virtual world development